Men’s Professional Rugby Board: Player Load Management Group Update
Rugby’s paramount concern is and always has been the welfare and well-being of its players. As part of the newly established Men’s Professional Rugby Board (MPRB) a subgroup has been formed – the Player Load Management Group – with a remit to monitor and review the amount players are playing and rest periods across the season to manage player welfare for all players in the Premiership, including England Rugby’s Elite Player Squad.
The group is made up of the following representatives from the MPRB as well as player representatives from Team England Rugby:
- Ged Roddy (MPRB Independent Non-Executive Director)
- Conor O Shea (RFU)
- Phil Winstanley (PRL)
- Christian Day (RPA)
- Joe Marler and Gaia Bursell (Team England Rugby)
The group has met three times since the start of 2025, most recently following the conclusion of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations, to ensure they are constantly monitoring player load and welfare, paying close attention to a small number of players who may go over the 30-game a season guideline set by World Rugby. This is due to potential inclusion in European or domestic knock-out rounds and either The British & Irish Lions tour or England tour to the USA and Argentina.
The purpose of recent meeting was to review current playing load of the England Elite Player Squad (EPS) and to discuss principles around end of season projected loads and management of players into next season. The group will meet again after the European Quarter Finals to update its player review.
The group has agreed that all players will be mandated to have 10 weeks off before starting the new season, so any player who goes on the Lions Tour will not be available for the first two rounds of the Premiership and any player who goes on tour with England to the USA and Argentina will be available from round 1 of the Premiership but not available to play in the Premiership Cup prior to that.
Individual player development plans will be developed through pre-season regarding an individual’s medical and conditioning programmes. With the Professional Game Partnership and Team England Rugby agreements in place the intention is that the Enhanced Elite Player Squad for the 2025-26 season will be notified and in place the week after the end of the Lions tour (w/c 11 August).
Ged Roddy, MPRB, Independent Non-Executive Director, said: “The welfare of the players is paramount and keeping a constant watching brief over the matches they play is crucial. Having a group of representatives from the professional rugby board as well as the players through Team England ensures the right stakeholders are in the room when decisions are made. We know it’s possible that a small number of players might exceed the guided match limits so it’s important that we track this throughout the season and created tailored plans for each player, working closely with their clubs both for this season and into the 2025-26 season. It’s important to have some flexibility and an individualised approach to managing a player’s schedule.”
Joe Marler, Team England Rugby representative, said: “It’s really positive that player representatives are right at the heart of the discussions about welfare. I know what it’s like as player who wants to seize every opportunity and play whenever you’ve got the chance, but you need people in the background monitoring and making sure your time and schedule is well planned and that’s where I come in as part of this group.”
